Faith Opesusi, a student from Lagos, reportedly scored 146 out of 400 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), according to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which released the results on May 9.
An analysis of the results revealed that over 78% of candidates scored below 200, sparking widespread concern over the unusually low performance rate. The outcome led to protests from several candidates who questioned the credibility of the examination process.
Faith’s father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, told the BBC that his 19-year-old daughter had dreams of studying Microbiology. However, after viewing her score, she was deeply distressed. He said she consumed a toxic substance and tragically passed away.
He also claimed that Faith had previously achieved a high score in the 2024 UTME and was shocked to receive such a low mark this year. According to him, the emotional impact of the result overwhelmed her.
“If she had shared her pain with us, we would have tried everything to support and encourage her,” Oluwafemi said, expressing the family’s grief and regret. He also noted that JAMB never provided what he believes to be her accurate result.
On May 14, JAMB publicly acknowledged that technical issues had affected the integrity of results from 157 exam centres located in Lagos and the South-East. During a press conference, the Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, apologized to the affected students and the nation, attributing the issue to errors caused by one of JAMB’s service providers.
As a corrective measure, nearly 380,000 affected candidates were instructed to retake the exam between May 15 and May 19, 2025.
At the time of this report, JAMB has not issued a specific response regarding the case of Faith Opesusi.
